ECI orders special drive to enrol eligible voters whose names were left out during SIR
New Delhi: The Election Commission has said voters flagged as “unmapped” or for “logical discrepancies” during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision will not ordinarily be required to appear for hearings, with booth-level officers directed to collect documents from their homes.
The documents will be uploaded on ECINET for a decision by the Electoral Registration Officer, the poll panel said in a press note issued after a meeting of the full Commission. A hearing may be held in exceptional cases and should preferably be conducted online, it added.
An adult family member may also be authorised to attend a hearing on behalf of an elector when required.
The Commission said chief electoral officers, district election officers and EROs would launch a special drive to enrol eligible voters whose names were left out during or after the revision. Young and first-time voters can seek inclusion under the continuous updation process.
The poll body also announced a review of ECINET by a committee headed by a senior deputy election commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT. The panel will examine whether the platform complies with the relevant election laws and rules.
It said field officers have role-based access to ECINET in line with their statutory powers. New IT modules and portals will be discussed by the Committee of Officers before being placed before the Commission for approval.
The Commission also said the additional declaration attached to Form 6 for the SIR would apply only during the revision. For periods outside the SIR, the form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, would be used.
Clarifying reports about differences within the poll panel, the Commission said the SIR schedules had received unanimous approval. It said the letter sent to the Cabinet Secretary concerned the functioning of an officer on deputation and was not related to any policy matter or the IT division.
The press note said directions issued by the election commissioners to officers must be complied with and agendas for Commission meetings would be circulated in advance, with minutes issued after the meetings.
